Giannis Antetokounmpo Kawhi Leonard
Photo: Yahoo Sports

We’re getting close to the pinnacle of the basketball season – the NBA Finals! There are only four teams left and we have two very entertaining conference finals matchups ahead of us.

While all the remaining teams’ players are getting hyped for the chance to reach basketball glory, the fans are excited as well. Betting on this year’s NBA Conference Finals can be a great chance to add a little extra excitement, too.

Unfortunately, you can’t bet on the NBA everywhere – in some US states this form of gambling is illegal. Nevertheless, as the country’s betting laws start to loosen up, regulations are starting to change, too, and NBA betting is becoming more widespread.

People from NJ games can tell you all about the best bookies in New Jersey, but they also have extensive articles and infographics that depict where you can enjoy sports betting throughout the country.

Now, back to the NBA!

In this year’s Western Conference Finals, we’ll see the matchup between the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Photo: Twitter/NBA

Of course, the experience and the sheer quality of the Warriors make them the favorites in this series, but they have a lot of problems concerning injuries in their star players.

Namely, Kevin Durant will miss game one and is questionable for game two as well. There were some talks that DeMarcus Cousins might return after going down with a thigh injury in the first round, but that’s also unlikely to happen.

Add the fact that Steph Curry won’t be 100% due to his wrist injury, and the Warriors look fairly vulnerable with their short rotation.

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum propelled the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals after a thrilling seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets. They might be a little gassed from it, but this is the playoffs, and they haven’t reached this far since 2000.

While the Warriors are still the favorites, we might see an upset in the first two games due to the aforementioned injuries. So if you’re willing to take a risk, wager on the Blazers to win either game one or game two. However, a safer bet would be to pick the Warriors as the series winners.

Photo: Twitter/NBA

On the other coast, Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks will face Kawhi and the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks have the best record in the NBA this year and they’ve only had one loss in the playoffs so far.

This puts them in the position of favorite, while they also have the home-court advantage. Nevertheless, the Raptors are riding high after that amazing game winner from Kawhi Leonard in game seven against the Sixers, so they definitely have a chance.

Our prediction is that this will be a tight series that may possibly go to seven games. The games might be tight, so betting on over/under might be wiser instead of picking the winner.